The sum of two numbers is $12$ and their difference is $20$. What is the smaller number?
Solution: Let $x$ be the larger number and $y$ be the smaller number. Then we have $x+y=12$ and $x-y=20$. If we subtract the second equation from the first, we get $$x+y-(x-y)=12-20\qquad\Rightarrow 2y=-8\qquad\Rightarrow y=-4.$$ The smaller number is $\boxed{-4}$.